The Secret School (11 page)

T
HE WEEK FOLLOWING THE
exam was a nerve-racking time for Ida.

She found staying at home extremely difficult. But at least there were always things that had to be done.

The worst part was worrying over the exam results. Ida could barely wait for the end of each day. Then she and Felix would drive about a mile down the road to check their battered mailbox, one of a line of seven for those families living at the head of Elk Valley.

For six days, when Ida and Felix arrived, the red mailbox flag was down. Then, exactly one week after the day of the exam, the flag was up.

"They're here!" Ida screamed at Felix as they drew close. "Clutch. Brake!"

The car skittered and backfired to a stop. Not waiting for Felix, Ida untied the door, leaped out, and raced to the box.

Inside were two pale tan envelopes, each one addressed in an elegant scrolling hand. One was for "Miss Ida Bidson," the other for "Master Felix Bidson."

Handing Felix his envelope, Ida tore open her own. Inside was a printed form with parts filled in by hand:

 

This certifies that
Ida Bidson
. age
14
, a resident of the town of
Elk Valley
, of
Routt
County, State of Colorado, has completed the course of study
with honors
prescribed for common schools, and is entitled to enter the high school at
Steamboat Springs
, for the year beginning
September 1925
.

 

Yours truly,
Miss Gertrude Sedgewick
County Examiner

 

There was yet a second piece of paper, with another note.

 

Dear Miss Bidson,

I'm happy to inform you that all of your students—except Herbert Bixler—completed their exams with varying degrees of success.
Congratulations!

 

Gertrude Sedgewick
County Examiner

 

"I passed!" Ida screamed. "Most everyone passed!"

"Did I?" asked Felix as he studied his paper intently.

"You sure did," Ida assured him.

"Did Herbert?"

Ida shook her head.

"How come?"

"I don't think he wanted to," Ida said. She looked at her papers again.

Only then did she notice there was yet a third piece of paper in the envelope, on which a note was written.

 

My dear Ida,

I have been most impressed by you and what you have done these past weeks. If you would care to take board in my Steamboat Springs home when you attend high school in the fall, I would be happy to have you. It would cost your parents nothing. You may consider it a scholarship.

G.
S.

 

"Felix," Ida said breathlessly.

"What?"

"I think I'm going to high school."

 

Last Day Exercises were held a week later in the one-room schoolhouse. The students had bedecked it with flowers.

The ceremonies, over which Mr. Jordan presided, began outside with the raising of the flag. Then everyone trooped inside. At the last moment even Herbert appeared, without shoes but with a grin.

One by one the students—youngest to oldest—went to the front of the room to recite. There were poems, excerpts from famous orations, speeches from Shakespeare (to Ida's delight, Herbert recited his
Caesar
speech), and other bits and pieces from literature, all from their readers.

Interspersed were songs sung by all the children. Finally, each student (except Herbert) was handed a certificate of promotion, then given a handshake from the members of the school board.

Ida was the last one to be called.

As she stepped up to receive her diploma, Mr. Jordan cleared his throat. "In addition to graduating from eighth grade with honors," he said, "Miss Ida Bidson, who acted as our schoolteacher, deserves special recognition. I guess"—he cleared his throat—"we can
all
see that."

The adults applauded. The children cheered.

"And here's hoping," Mr. Jordan continued, "she'll go on and become a real teacher, then come on back to work here at this same school."

Herbert shouted out, "But you'll have to pay her then!"

After the laughter died down, Susie—in new shoes and a new dress made just for the occasion—concluded the ceremony by singing "Amazing Grace."

Then everyone headed outside for refreshments. A trestle table had been set up, and people had brought enough food and lemonade to feed the whole valley.

After filling her plate, Ida noticed Herbert standing alone, away from the crowd. She went up to him.

"Well, it's Miss Bidson," he said.

"Herbert Bixler, did you fail that exam on purpose?" she asked.

"Hey, I told you, I'm dumb."

"You are not. You just didn't want to get your father mad, did you?"

Herbert shrugged. "If you want to know, I've made up my mind what I'm going to do."

"What's that?"

"When I get to be old enough, I'm going on down to Denver to join the navy."

"The navy?"

"Sail the seven seas."

"Did you tell your father?"

"Nope. You're the only one who knows."

"And I guess you figure never to come back."

"I dunno. Maybe I will. Depends who's around."

"Herbert Bixler," said Ida, "this may have been a secret school, but you're the biggest secret of all."

Herbert looked at her. She wished she knew what he was thinking. But then he turned and walked away.

She was still looking after him when Tom sidled up. "Hey, Miss Bidson," he said, "thanks for being our teacher."

"You're welcome," Ida managed to say. "Thanks for the idea in the first place."

"Yeah, but now that it's all over, do you know what I like most about it?"

"No."

"I can call you Ida again. All the time."

"I'd like that."

"Hey, Ida," he said with a grin, "want some lemonade?"

"Do you, Tom?"

"Sure as aces."

 

"We're real proud of you, Ida," her mother said as the family drove home.

"Real proud," Mr. Bidson agreed. "Only thing is, you've got some serious work cut out for you this summer."

"Why?" Ida said, slightly alarmed.

"Well, you'll be going to high school in the Ml, right? Boarding with Miss Sedgewick. That means we'll be losing a strong pair of hands. The more work you get done this summer, the easier it's going to be for the rest of us when you go."

"Get Tom up here!" Felix shouted. "He'll do anything for Ida."

Mr. and Mrs. Bidson laughed. Ida's face turned red. But she smiled and looked out the window, and though it was dark outside, all she could see was brightness.

Question:
Did you always want to be a writer, or did you try a different career path before you chose writing?
Avi:
I made up my mind to be a writer when I was a seventeen-year-old in high school.

Q:
Were there particular books or people that influenced your passion for storytelling?
A: Ever since I learned to read, I have read voluminously and continually. There is no one book—and no one writer—that is key to my work.

Q:
What is your writing process? How many drafts do you write?
A: I rewrite everything fifty or sixty times. Sometimes—before it's done—I share the book with an editor, or read some of it to my wife. When the work is complete—but not done—I often read it to a class of kids.

Q:
How do you come up with story ideas? What sparked the idea for
The
Secret
School?
A: A writer is someone who shapes his or her ideas into words and narratives. It's the way I think. The original idea for
The
Secret
School
came from someone who told me how she went to a one-room schoolhouse the way Ida did—she doing the driving, her brother working the foot pedals.

Q:
Do personal experiences or details ever end up in your books?
A:
To be sure.
The Secret School
takes place in an area (Elk Valley, Colorado) where we have a mountain home.

Q:
Many of your novels are historical fiction. What is it about history that intrigues you?
A:
All history is the first chapter of our lives—the prologue, if you will. You can't understand the present without knowing about the past. You can't invent the future without knowing how things can change.

Q:
How do you keep your historical characters authentic? Are they modeled after people you know?
A:
While people are shaped and often defined by the historical moment, people remain people. What changes is the way they think about the world. If you think you have a chance to do what you wish with your life, you act differently than if you believe you can do nothing.

Q:
The events in
The Secret School
take place in 1925. Did you have to do any research to tell Ida Bidson's story?
A:
There are many accounts and autobiographical notes about one-room schoolhouses—which I read. I also interviewed a number of people who had attended them. One-room schoolhouses (old and new) exist all over the country today.

Q:
Self-reliance is an important theme in many of your stories, including
The Secret School
What drives your exploration of this theme?
A:
Young people live in a world controlled, shaped, and ordered by older people. To become more than a child you must take charge of your own fate.

Q:
In taking over the school, Ida not only affects her own destiny, she makes a difference in the lives of the other students, too. In what ways do you hope your novels will influence your readers?
A:
My novels are meant to entertain, engage, and help shape ideas and emotions. I have neither an agenda nor a desire to teach anything. If I can expand the experience of any reader, I'm pleased.

1. Ida must choose between hating herself and scaring herself. Have you ever faced a similar choice? What did you decide? Would you make the same decision now?
   
2. Tom tells Ida something his uncle once said: "If you want to try something new, and you're not scared, means you're not really trying something new." What did he mean?
   
3. When Ida's dad asks her if she wants to be treated like a kid or a grown-up, she confesses, "I don't know." Why wouldn't she want to be treated like an adult?
   
4. Ida has to deal with Herbert when he acts up in class. Would you have handled the situation differently if you were in her place?
   
5. Tom warns Ida not to forget who she is. Why would that make things harder for Ida and her friends?
   
6. How is a day in Ida's one-room school different from or similar to a day in your own school?
   

A
VI
has written many acclaimed books for middle-grade and teen readers, including his Newbery Medal winner,
Crispin: The Cross of Lead,
and his two Newbery Honor winners,
Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel
and
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Avi began his career as a playwright, then turned to writing books for young readers after he had children. He lives with his family in Denver, Colorado, when he's not at their Elk Valley mountain retreat—the setting for
The Secret School.